The move will strengthen Singtel’s foothold in India; Singtel to also acquire 21% stake in Thailand’s Intouch Holdings for about $1.14 billion

Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (Singtel) said on Thursday that it had signed an agreement with its majority owner Temasek Holdings (Pte) Ltd to purchase a 7.39% stake in Bharti Telecom Ltd, the holding company of India’s largest telco Bharti Airtel Ltd, for $659.51 million.

The deal will strengthen the foothold Singtel, South-East Asia’s largest telecom company, has in India, the world’s second largest mobile-phone market, where consumers are switching to smartphones from feature phones at a rapid pace.

Prior to the agreement with Temasek, Singtel already owned 39.78% of Bharti Telecom besides a direct stake of 15.01% in Airtel through its subsidiaries Pastel Ltd and Viridian Ltd.

With the latest deal, Singtel’s effective total holding in Airtel will increase to 36.27% from 32.94%, cementing its position as the largest shareholder in the Indian company.

The Mittal family owns just under a 30% effective stake in Airtel, largely by virtue of its 51% stake in Bharti Telecom.

Additionally, Singtel will acquire a 21% stake in Thailand’s Intouch Holdings Public Co. Ltd for about $1.14 billion. Intouch is the biggest shareholder in Thailand’s largest mobile operator Advanced Info Services Public Co. Ltd (AIS)

Hero FinCorp set to close PE fundraising worth $100 million

Hero FinCorp, which took birth as Hero Honda FinLease Ltd in December 1991, recorded a turnover of Rs771 crore in 2015-16 against Rs298.62 crore in 2014-15

Mumbai: Hero FinCorp Ltd, the financial services arm of India’s largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp Ltd, is close to raising around $100 million from private equity (PE) investors, two people aware of the development said.

Singapore investment firm Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd and India-focused PE fund ChrysCapital LLC are in the final stages of talks with Hero, one of the two persons said. The deal could be closed within a couple of days, this person added, on condition of anonymity.

According to this person, both Temasek and ChrysCapital are equally keen on a stake and shares could be split between the two.

Hero FinCorp promoters, who had initially planned to sell 15% stake for $85 million may instead sell about 20-25% stake for $100-120 million, the second of the two persons cited above said.

Hero FinCorp planned to raise $100 million (Rs.650 crore) by selling a significant minority stake to PE funds to fuel its expansion into new areas, Mint reported in November last year. The company hired global investment bank Credit Suisse Group AG to find buyers and discussions had started, the Mint report added.

Spokespersons at Temasek and ChrysCapital declined to comment while an e-mail sent to Abhimanyu Munjal, chief executive officer at Hero Fincorp, and a spokesperson at Credit Suisse on Thursday went unanswered.

Hero FinCorp, which took birth as Hero Honda FinLease Ltd in December 1991, recorded a turnover of Rs.771 crore in 2015-16 against Rs.298.62 crore in 2014-15.

The non-banking finance company (NBFC) has a presence at over 1,000 retail financing touch-points across Hero MotoCorp’s network and has partnered with more than 200 satisfied corporate clients, according to the company website.